Our Church

As a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, we accept the Cumberland Presbyterian Confession of Faith as a collection of our stated beliefs. If you are not familiar with the Confession of Faith, please ask an Elder, the Pastor, or simply visit online here

WE BELIEVE that the Bible is indeed the inspired word of God.

WE BELIEVE that God exists in the unity of the Godhead; God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

WE BELIEVE that although created perfect, humanity through willful disobedience of God, have separated themselves from the source of life; God Himself!

WE BELIEVE that Christ, and only Christ being fully man and fully God, has the ability to repair the relationship for us, and that He grants this gift of reconciliation freely for those who place their total trust in Him.

WE BELIEVE that the Christian life should be dedicated to loving God, and loving others just as Christ loves the church.

Sometime after 1865 Edward Benton and Henry Cohea began mission work in an area now known as the Mt Denson Community which resulted in a “Brush Arbor” Revival – held by Rev. W. C. Denson. The Revival led to the organizing of a new Cumberland Presbyterian Church named in honor of Rev. Denson.

The church was organized on August 7, 1880 by Rev. S. T. Porter. There were 7 charter members – Rev. Porter, Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Mondy, Edward Benton, Henry Cohea and Bess Miles. The last living Charter member, Mr. Mondy, died in 1980. The first elders were Edward Benton and Henry Cohea.

The first church building was constructed on land given by John Woodard (Woodard Hardware – Woodard Hall Building on the Springfield square), and it was on the very spot of the current Sanctuary. The Mt Denson Cemetery is on a one acre track (less 20 square foot kept by the BT Cohea family) deeded to the Mt Denson Church on July 5, 1897 specifically as a cemetery. The original building was destroyed by a snow and ice storm. A new one room building was erected on the same site and was completed in 1893, a white frame building with two front doors. The current sanctuary excluding the choir area and Narthex are the same footprint. That building had no AC, no central heat (instead it had pot bellied coal burning stoves), no electricity, and no plumbing, no Sunday School rooms, or fellowship hall. For many years, Mt Denson shared a Pastor and a manse with Mt Sharon Cumberland Presbyterian Church west of Springfield. Sunday School was held every Sunday at Mt Denson and Worship was held twice a month alternating Sundays with Mt Sharon. In 1949, Mt Denson called their first full time Pastor – J. W. Bright, and the present manse was built on land given by the heirs of Mrs. Bertha Kemper (Kemper Loose Floor Tobacco). The manse was dedicated November 13, 1949.

Mt. Denson Church prior to the 1947 expansion

In 1947 the first Sunday School rooms were built on to the sanctuary. In the mid 1950’s the basement was dug under the existing building, and we had our first Fellowship Hall and kitchen. During the 1960’s more Sunday School rooms were added on the side of the sanctuary. The pot belly stoves were replaced with butane gas stoves. About 10 years later the narthex was added along with more Sunday School rooms on the opposite side of the sanctuary. Central heat and air were installed, the exterior was bricked, and the sanctuary remodeled. The new additions were dedicated October 6, 1974.

In 1978 the first women were elected to serve as Elders. They were: Avis England and Kaye Hyde.

In 1980 Mt Denson celebrated our 100th Birthday with a full year of activities, events and programs which ended on August 3, 1980 with a Sunday of worship, music, fellowship, food and sharing memories with visiting former pastors, members and friends.

Aerial view of Mt. Denson Church prior to the 1992 expansion

In 1992 an ambitious building program was begun. It included two floors of new classrooms, 4 new restrooms, a long awaited choir room, a library, conference room, administration office space, a wonderful kitchen, a ladies parlor and large family life center with a half court gym - which was later remodeled and updated to remove the gym. These additions were completed and dedicated February 5, 1995.

Mt Denson has survived the Great Depression, two World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Iraq, Afghanistan and 9/11. We even sent our pastor, E.C. Hurley, to war in 1991 in the midst of our building program. How has Mt Denson survived? It is because our church is not a building, it is the people - hard working, decent people - loving God, the church, family, and one another. They dreamed dreams of what could be and made them come true. Praying, Playing, and Working together – Always remembering that “with God, nothing is impossible.”

Pastor

Nathan Barnes

Nathan, with eyes full of tears, trudged down the aisle under the weight of his sin at age nine in a church in Ridgetop, TN. God was always pulling on Nathan, yet it was not until the last year in high school that he remembered that his life was not his own. God quickly restored Nathan’s heart, sending Kate into his life.

Over the next several years, Nathan sought places to serve whilst raising a family, working full time, and seeking his Bachelor’s degree. There were many times when Nathan struggled, yet God continued to pull on his heart, leading him forward. God used trials to sharpen, hone, and break Nathan so that he could be remade into the pastor God knew he could be. Nathan graduated receiving a Bachelor’s Degree from Williamson Christian College in 2012.

After college Nathan settled into a routine. Church attendance, serving as a Deacon and teaching Bible Study, became his way to serve, however secretly he was avoiding the call God had placed on his life. In 2015 with a single blow, God humbled Nathan, answered his prayers, and applied life altering pressure. A diagnosis of Diabetes at age 30.

In the five years since, Nathan has sought more diligently to answer the call. Leading his family of four to focus on God, preaching regularly at the Nashville Rescue Mission, filling pulpits when available, teaching the Bible, and following God where He leads. It is this focus, passion, and call that has led Nathan to Mt. Denson.